So me and my gf have been talking about it for several weeks and we’ve finally reached a consensus…she thinks I’m not going to be happy unless I’m at the top of the food chain because of my personality and how I am, and therefore, if I do anything less than shoot for MD/DO she’s promised to kick my ass. So I guess that takes care of maybe looking at PA. (: (I looked it up all the same though and it just confirmed med school is a better choice, seeing as PA schools have you take the same basic science classes with the med students…)
Anyway, here’s my plan. I withdrew from Davis to focus on finishing paramedic school since both of them require you to place them first in your list of priorities, and at this point in my life, P-school wins out since it’s a decent-paying job and it’ll be probably some of the most enjoyable experiences of my life (already has been in P-school itself). My timeline of finishing paramedic school is roughly December or January.
My girlfriend works in Mountain View so we’re kind of limited as far as living situations go. My internship for paramedic school will hopefully be in the bay area down in Alameda County which is close to where she works. So we can’t necessarily get an apartment inbetween her work and UCD since it’s too far a distance right now. I also need to work for at least 6 months full-time as a medic before I can go down to part-time.
That being said, what we’ve decided to do is get an apartment in San Ramon which is about 30 min from her work and 30 min from Alameda, I’ll work as a medic for a year, and during that year (since I would have had to do this after I graduate Davis anyway), I’ll take my year of physics at a CC down in the bay. I’m aware of the stigma about taking pre-reqs at a CC, however, taking physics at Davis would prolong how many terms it takes to graduate, the physics program at Davis is basically considered a joke by everyone and notorious for being a pathetic program, and I would be unable to do UCD during that year anyway so I might as well knock out some pre-reqs.
I was also considering doing my year of bio alongside physics while I work full-time, however, me and my gf think that may be a bad idea since I started the bio series at Davis so it may look suspicious if I then took it at a CC. I was able to get an A in bio 1, it wasn’t hard, but the new bio series at Davis is just plain stupid and focuses too much on the origin of life which they don’t know anyway so it seems like they’re just wasting everyone’s time. However, at this point I think it would be most prudent to finish the bio series there.
As far as my degree goes, in addition to my econ requirements, the college that handles econ majors requires 15 UD units beyond what I already will have when I finish my econ pre-reqs. The ochem series at Davis for pre-meds is conveniently UD and 12 units total. The remaining 3 units will easily be made up by the systemic physiology lab I have to take since bio 1 doesn’t have a lab so I need to correct for that and then biochem & genetics will put me over the minimum UD unit requirements.
So I’ll end up having taken a year of gen chem, year of calc and stats before I transferred to UCD, a year of physics while I’m taking a “break” from UCD, and having done a year of bio, year of ochem, systemic physiology, systemic physiology lab, biochemistry and genetics from Davis.
So my question is does this plan sound reasonable? I see no reason why it wouldn’t since I’m still taking the majority of my units from a UC, getting a non-bio degree which apparently is all the rage these days, and that way once I grad from Davis I’m instantly ready to take the MCAT and apply as opposed to having to take another year to get physics done.
Tim,
For what it’s worth, especially considering since this is coming from a pre-med advisor(!), I was told to not take any of my classes from a CC. However, since I work full time, have a family, etc., he said it may be an option to consider because if I can’t get physics this summer, then I’m delaying my MCATs by another year. Originally, I was slated to take them next month, then spring 2010, and maybe in spring 2011 if I can’t get physics taken this summer.
The local state college and university don’t offer the classes when I can take them, so I’m hoping the local CC will have them on their summer schedule.
If not, c’est la vie. Just gives us more time to recover from the housing market!
He did say that there would not be much of an issue with me taking physics at a CC as long as I do well on the physical sciences portion of the MCAT. He also said there would be schools where I had NO chance of getting admitted because I took the a CC class. He would work with me to make sure I didn’t apply to those institutions.
Strange world.
Both you guys sound like you have solid plans. And hakado, your pre-med advisor sounds like s/he has head screwed on straight. OldManDave has written that you want to present your application with your head held high and no apologies - no “um, I know they’re CC credits but, um, like I got a 13 on my PS MCAT.” Nope.
“I wasn’t going to let schedules or finances get in the way of my goal, and so I took physics at the CC and kicked its ass!” or something like that. 
G’luck to you both!
Mary